In a fueling environment, a sump is a below-ground area in which mechanical or fuel handling equipment may be located and accessed. Some sumps are contained, meaning they have sides and a bottom designed to both keep water from entering the sump and/or to prevent certain liquids, such as liquid fuel, from leaking into the environment. Often, sumps are provided with a removable cover located at or above grade level.
Sumps are often used with a number of different components, such as fuel dispensers, fuel piping, and fuel storage tanks. A dispenser sump, for instance, is located directly beneath a fuel dispenser and may provide access to fuel piping, flex connectors, shear valves, and other fuel handling equipment. An intermediate sump may be provided at a point (such as a low point, branch, or tee) along fuel piping that runs between fuel storage tanks and fuel dispensers. These sumps may provide access to the fuel piping. Similarly, a transition sump may provide a location at which below-ground piping may transition to above-ground piping or at which the type of piping may change.
Fuel storage tanks, which are typically located beneath the ground, and thus, are commonly referred to as “underground storage tanks” (USTs), may be equipped with two or more sumps. For example, a sump may be provided for components of a submersible turbine pump, and a separate sump may be provided for components of a magnetostrictive probe or another type of fuel gauge. Further, components similar to sumps, sometimes referred to as spill buckets, may be provided at the ground-level opening to fuel-filling pipes that extend into USTs and/or at the opening to vapor recovery pipes that extend into the UST ullage.